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Tampa Bay to miss the playoffs in 2025 and Brisebois fired?
After Steve Yzerman's departure, Julien Brisebois has long been considered one of the best general managers in the NHL when looking at his team's performance over the past decade.
The acquisitions of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Mikhail Sergachev, and several other talented players have enabled the Lightning to win two Stanley Cup rings in recent years.
The trades and signings in the free agent market have been enough to chill fans' blood. First, Mikhail Sergachev was sacrificed in a major trade to free up salary cap space. Steven Stamkos was snubbed before signing with Nashville. Admittedly, the addition of Jake Guentzel might be a balm on a difficult summer, but it is far from affirming that Tampa Bay will be in the running for top honors in 2024-2025.
During the off-season, the Quebecer at the helm of the Tampa Bay Lightning made moves that are hard to decipher regarding the new face of his team. He let go of "Mr. Lightning" Steven Stamkos and traded defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. All of this to replace them with Jake Guentzel and Ryan McDonagh/J.J. Moser...
Ryan McDonagh is getting older, J.J. Moser has some skills but cannot replace Sergachev. Steven Stamkos is older than Jake Guentzel, but he was the captain of your team. The former Penguin and Hurricane will have big shoes to fill if the Lightning wants to succeed.
With teams like Buffalo, Montreal, Detroit, and Ottawa expected to improve with their young cores, the Lightning will not have much room for maneuver. The Bruins, Maple Leafs, and Panthers will probably be the top three teams in the division. This means the Lightning will likely have to fight for a wildcard spot.
Shock and Possible Dismissal for Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois?
For the reasons mentioned above, columnist Adam Proteau from the site The Hockey News dropped a bombshell proposing a change in the team's general management to bring in fresh blood. Without firing him now, Proteau thinks that if nothing changes in Tampa soon, Brisebois could be in a hot spot.
"Time is running out for this core of Lightning talents, and Brisebois needs to find a way to make his team thrive. If he can't, it might be time to make a change at the top of the power pyramid in Tampa." - Adam Proteau
The pressure will therefore be enormous for the Quebecer in the coming months. He will have to hope that the changes made to his lineup will be beneficial and that the team will quickly find success, especially after completely ignoring his captain. The way he was treated and the media coverage around this situation will not please the team's owners.
On his side, the excellent Frank Seravalli stated in the latest episode of the DFO Rundown podcast that the GM made a monumental blunder by letting Stamkos go. According to the renowned informant, the former Bolts captain still had good hockey left in him and was the face of the organization. The first overall pick in the 2008 draft, Steven Stamkos was the soul and heart of this double Stanley Cup-winning team, despite a few injuries during his career.
"It's a giant miscalculation by Julien Brisebois"
"Make no mistake, I don't think teams should let emotions dictate negotiations. But I find it hard to believe that a player who just scored over 40 goals and 80 points last season can't help your team. [...] I really believe that if the Lightning had offered him three years at six million dollars a year, he would have taken it. The Lightning's offer wasn't even close."
- Frank Seravalli
"Make no mistake, I don't think teams should let emotions dictate negotiations. But I find it hard to believe that a player who just scored over 40 goals and 80 points last season can't help your team. [...] I really believe that if the Lightning had offered him three years at six million dollars a year, he would have taken it. The Lightning's offer wasn't even close."
- Frank Seravalli
The margin for another questionable hockey decision could be fatal. Julien Brisebois must hope that Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman will step up and carry the team to the next level.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 20 | 160 ANSWERS Tampa Bay to miss the playoffs in 2025 and Brisebois fired? Do you think that Julien Brisebois will be fired at the end of the season? | ||
| Yes | 95 | 59.4 % |
| No | 65 | 40.6 % |
| List of polls | ||